FRAMA in Situ: Acid Café Prenzlauer Berg
A new space in Berlin continues an ongoing collaboration across design and hospitality: between Acid Café, Studio Plantea, and FRAMA.
At Acid Café Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin, the Madrid-based coffee-makers open their second location in the city. The interior of the new space—designed by Studio Plantea, also based in Madrid, with FRAMA furnishings—introduces a warmth to an industrial neighborhood filled with artists studios, exposed architecture, and raw materials.
– Carla Morán, Studio Plantea
The starting point for this new location was a space on the ground floor of a building with a granite terrace, exposed concrete walls, and fluid curtains made of linked steel. As Morán describes it, Plantea’s approach was to maintain a connection to the raw elements of the existing interior, while introducing warmth and comfort. The crux of this process was based on the simple connection between architecture and hospitality: “these are spaces that must make you feel at home.”
The studio began by designing a large wooden structure to create substantial storage for the bakery as well as creating a backdrop for the rest of the café—and to introduce this new, more organic material to the industrial bones of the space. Across a granite counter in the same material as the exterior terrace is made up of, then, is the interior seating area of the space; filled with FRAMA Symmetry Armrest Chairs and Petit Rond Series. On the raw concrete wall, a Shelf Library System is installed, which may be the piece most suited to the space: a visual balance between stainless steel rails and a canvas cabinet cover that introduces the softness of canvas with a practical use.
Tabletops on which to enjoy coffees and pastries include the FRAMA Table 57 with a unique wooden top created to match the material dialogue of the space and Plantea’s custom millwork. Outside, Petit Rond Stools without their leather additions create further connection between indoor seating and out.
There is a lightness to the entirety of the space, perhaps because all senses are accounted for: Acid cafés are known for their audio and the statement-making speakers in their spaces, and this new location is no exception. Through custom shelving for speakers this element is given its due, and through the material choices of the space, a tonal acoustic depth is achieved.
“We always try to push the boundaries of what is considered typical in a café—just a little.”
As for Morán’s order recommendation? “A batch brew with a morning bun or a cinnamon roll—the best.”
Photography by Daniel Farò
